NATURAL


Meaning of NATURAL in English

I. ˈnach(ə)rəl+V also -chərl adjective

Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French natural, naturel, from Latin naturalis, from natura nature + -alis -al — more at nature

1. : based upon the innate moral feeling or inherent sense of right and wrong held to characterize mankind

principles of equity and natural justice — J.D.Johnson

— see natural law

2.

a. : in accordance with or determined by nature : based upon the operations of the physical world

natural year

— see natural logarithm , natural number ; compare day 1, 2

b. : having or constituting a classification or other method of arrangement based on features existing in nature

3.

a. chiefly dialect

(1) : begotten as distinguished from adopted ; especially : begotten in wedlock : legitimate

all the children, whether male or female, natural or adopted — Thomas Robinson

(2) : being a relation by actual consanguinity or kinship by descent as distinguished from adoption

any child … found guilty of cursing or striking his natural parents — American Guide Series: Connecticut

b.

(1) : born out of wedlock ; specifically : illegitimate — see natural child

(2) : being a relation by consanguinity as opposed to a legally recognized relationship

4. : having an essential relationship with someone or something : possessing a normal connection with someone or something : consonant with the nature or character of someone or something

his guilt is a natural deduction from the facts

5. : implanted or held to be implanted by nature : existing or present from birth : being part of the constitution of a person : not acquired : inborn , innate

some natural inability to observe — Ellen Glasgow

our natural abhorrence of war — F.D.Roosevelt

— see natural parts 2

6. : of, relating to, or concerned with nature as an object of study and research

some natural observations made — Philosophical Transactions

— see natural history , natural philosophy , natural science

7. : having a specified character by nature

natural fool

natural idiot

natural pacer

a natural leader

8. : white 3c

natural magic

9.

a. : occurring in conformity with the ordinary course of nature : not supernatural, marvelous, or miraculous

the natural process of growth — H.W.H.King

a world where natural forces overwhelmed him — R.B.West

the rate of natural increase of the … population was quite high — Kingsley Davis

natural causes

b. : having a normal or usual character : not exceptional

digressions … natural in a work taken down from oral dictation — G.F.Hudson

10. : having a relationship with something by reason of the conditions, events, or circumstances of the case or in line with normal experience

theory and practice are a kind of natural opposites — C.E.Montague

the natural enemies of originality — Clive Bell

11. : characterized by qualities (as warm and genuine feelings, affection, or gratitude) held to be part of the nature of man

a wicked old screw … why wasn't he natural in his lifetime — Charles Dickens

12. obsolete : natural-born

natural subjects

13.

a. : planted or growing by itself : not cultivated or introduced artificially

natural grass

b. : existing in or produced by nature : consisting of objects so existing or produced : not artificial (as in form or construction)

agricultural commodities in their raw and natural state — U.S. Code

these natural deposits of potassium salts — A.C.Morrison

the vast natural wealth of the country — William Tate

14.

a. : being in a state of nature without spiritual enlightenment : unregenerate

the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God — 1 Cor 2:14 (Authorized Version)

b. : living in or as if in a state of nature untouched by the influences of civilization and society

an apotheosis of natural man, with consequent exaltation of appetite — W.L.Grossman

15.

a. : having a physical or real existence as contrasted with one that is spiritual, intellectual, or psychical

the natural world

b. : of, relating to, or operating in the physical as opposed to the spiritual world

natural laws … merely describe what actually happens — Maurice Cranston & J.W.N.Watkins

16. obsolete : native-born

17.

a. : closely resembling the object imitated : true to nature : according to life

the Israeli flag … illustrated in natural colors — K.B.Stiles

doves natural do not have little crests — F.M.Ford

drawn to natural scale

b. : having the ease or simplicity of nature : free from artificiality, affectation, or constraint : springing from true sentiment : easy , simple

successful people are genuine and natural rather than synthetic and imitative — Gilbert Seldes

at ease with us …, always spontaneous and natural — Dorothy Bussy

c. : having a form or appearance found in nature

natural hair

18.

a. : having neither flats nor sharps — used of a key or scale in music

the natural scale of C major

b. : being neither sharped nor flatted — used of a musical note or tone

c. : having the pitch as indicated in musical notation modified by the natural (sense 7a)

d. : produced without aid of stops, valves, slides, or other supplementary devices — used of a harmonic or tone from a wind and stringed instrument

e. : not falsetto — used of a man's singing voice

19.

a. : not being the joker or a wild card — used of a playing card

b. : containing no wild card — used of a combination of cards

20. : of the color natural

Synonyms:

simple , unaffected , artless , unsophisticated , ingenuous , naïve : natural stresses easy freedom from the artificial, stiff, constrained, or formal

the fact is that a poetic language which appears natural to one age will appear unnatural or artificial to another — C.D.Lewis

the poor man had no natural, spontaneous human speech … he habitually expressed himself in a book-learned language — Willa Cather

simple indicates lack of duplicity and artifice in one's character or thought along with suggestion of lack of complexity and artificiality

the straight and simple, the homespun, simple, valiant English Truth — H.G.Wells

simple and earnest people, however, being accustomed to speak from their genuine impulses, cannot easily, as craftier men do, avoid the subject which they have at heart — Nathaniel Hawthorne

unaffected stresses lack of affectation and indicates a simple naturalness without connoting much else

his simple manners and unaffected friendliness were attractive — A.W.Long

she's the best-natured and most unaffected young creature — W.M.Thackeray

artless indicates freedom from calculation about the effects of what one says or does and a consequent ease

her simple, artless behaviour, and modest kindness of demeanour, won all their unsophisticated hearts — W.M.Thackeray

almost every turn in the artless little maid's prattle touched a new mood in him — George Meredith

unsophisticated stresses lack of knowledge of and experience with worldly matters bringing discretion, reserve, adroitness, smoothness

not elegant or artificial, too much the unsophisticated child of nature — Rose Macaulay

a race almost wholly unsophisticated by intercourse with strangers — Herman Melville

ingenuous indicates lack of any subtlety, dissimulation, calculation; it indicates unrestrained and unmasked frankness

Father had set a dog on him. A less ingenuous character would be silent about such passages — H.G.Wells

“yet I've done very well this year. Oh yes,” he went on with ingenuous enthusiasm — Thomas Hardy

naïve stresses lack of worldly wisdom and sophistication with resulting freshness, candor, or innocence untutored and unchecked by convention

the future arch master of love proved to be a naïve and candid swain at the beginning of his career — P.H.Lang

that naïve patriotism which leads every race to regard itself as evidently superior to every other — J.W.Krutch

Synonym: see in addition regular .

II. noun

( -s )

Etymology: partly from Middle French naturel, natural, from naturel, natural, adjective; partly from English natural (I)

1. obsolete : a native inhabitant of a place (as a region or country)

2. naturals plural , obsolete : the gifts, powers, and abilities with which a person is endowed by nature

a person of excellent naturals — Theophilus Gale

3. : one born without the usual powers of reason and understanding : a half-witted person : idiot

with the vacant grin of a natural — Charles Gibbon

4. naturals plural , obsolete : the objects of the natural world : natural as distinguished from unnatural or supernatural things

5. obsolete : the natural character or disposition of a person : the natural form or condition of an animate object (as a flower)

6. naturals plural , obsolete

a. : a natural state or condition

in their pure naturals, they were wonderfully abstemious — Thomas Fuller

b. : a state of nakedness — usually used in the phrase in one's pure naturals

7.

a. : the character or sign ♮ placed on any degree of the musical staff to nullify the effect of a preceding sharp or flat

b. : a note or tone affected by the natural sign

8. : a result or combination that immediately wins the stake in a game: as

a. : a throw of 7 or 11 on the first cast in craps

b. : blackjack 6c

c. : a count of 8 or 9 in the first two cards at baccarat

d. : ranche

9. : something that is natural as distinguished from artificial or supernatural

all culture is thus … a negation of the natural — Leon Livingstone

this social philosophy, based like contemporary science on the natural — New Republic

study the supernatural as the philosopher studies the natural — Frederic Myers

10. : a shot in billiards held to be easy because the ball can be pocketed directly or in carom billiards by a simple angle shot

11. : a variable color averaging a yellowish gray that is lighter and slightly redder than average sand and redder and deeper than ivory tint

12.

a. : one having natural skills, talents, or abilities often to an unusual degree and usually requiring no special training or development for success in a specific line of endeavor

as an actor, he was a natural

b. : something that by its very nature is or is likely to become an immediate and genuine success

as much a natural as rubber on the end of a pencil — Irving Kolodin

fight fans discussed the … rematch as a natural — Newsweek

the idea of this book is a natural — Carl Bridenbaugh

c. : one constituting an easy, appropriate, and usually successful selection for a specific purpose by possession of various natural qualities

the review characterizing some new novel as a natural for pictures — P.S.Nathan

the legal process … is a natural for delaying tactics — Titus Lord

fearless and cool in the face of disaster, he was a natural for the job — Newsweek

13. : a close pase in bullfighting done with the muleta in the left hand — compare derechazo

Synonyms: see fool

III. adjective

1. : relating to or being natural food

2. of hair : styled in an Afro

• natural noun

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.